Four-way, full-throttling valve concept

Valve regulates the flow of a fluid over the limits from full flow in one direction to full flow in the opposite direction. At the midpoint valve position both flow paths are closed. Gradually increasing port size on both flow paths results in good throttling characteristics

Becoming a Child Care Provider

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Milk Production and Composition in Charolais and Polled Hereford Cows on Different Forage Systems

The objective of this study was to study the effect of different winter and summer forage systems on milk production and composition in beef cows. Charolais and Polled Hereford cows were assigned to receive either grass hay and supplemental feed or ryegrass pasture during the late winter/early spring period, and then allowed to either graze warmseason grass pasture on a continuous or rotational basis during the summer period. Representative cows were machine-milked on day 48 (hay/feed vs ryegrass), on days 117 and 175 (continuous vs rotational grazing) postpartum. Milk weights were recorded and converted to 24- hour yields. Samples were collected from each cow on each milk date for determination of butterfat, protein and lactose content in milk

Hypothermic retrograde venous perfusion with adenosine cools the spinal cord and reduces the risk of paraplegia after thoracic aortic clamping

AbstractObjective: We evaluated the utility of retrograde venous perfusion to cool the spinal cord and protect neurologic function during aortic clamping. We hypothesized that hypothermic adenosine would preserve the spinal cord during ischemia. Methods: Six swine (group I) underwent thoracic aortic occlusion for 30 minutes at normothermia. Group II animals underwent spinal cooling by retrograde perfusion of the paravertebral veins with hypothermic (4°C) saline solution during aortic occlusion. The spinal cords of group III animals were cooled with a hypothermic adenosine solution in a similar fashion. Intrathecal temperature was monitored and somatosensory evoked potentials assessed the functional status of spinal pathways. Results: Spinal cooling without systemic hypothermia significantly improved neurologic Tarlov scores in group III (4.8 ± 0.2) and group II (3.8 ± 0.4) when compared with group I scores (1.3 ± 0.6) (P < .001). Furthermore, 5 of the 6 animals in group III displayed completely normal neurologic function, whereas only one animal in group II and no animals in group I did (P = .005). Somatosensory evoked potentials were lost 10.6 ± 1.4 minutes after ischemia in group I. In contrast, spinal cooling caused rapid cessation of neural transmission with loss of somatosensory evoked potentials at 6.9 ± 1.2 minutes in group II and 7.0 ± 0.8 minutes in group III (P = .06). Somatosensory evoked potential amplitudes returned to 85% of baseline in group III and 90% of baseline in group II compared with only 10% of baseline in group I (P = .01). Conclusions: We conclude that retrograde cooling of the spinal cord is possible and protects against ischemic injury and that adenosine enhances this effect. The efficacy of this method may be at least partly attributed to a more rapid reduction in metabolic and electrical activity of the spinal cord during ischemia. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;119:588-95

Analyzing the current state of Oregon's skilled nursing facilities

The purpose of this project is to paint a picture of the state of Oregon’s Skilled Nursing Facilities for the 2015 state fiscal year. Skilled Nursing Facilities are an important part of Oregon’s Long Term care continuum that provides care to individuals needing post-acute or on-going care. The URAP student assisted Public Health faculty and PhD students in preparing a report for the Oregon Department of Human Services. The student extracted, managed, summarized, and performed quality control on data from Skilled Nursing Facility Cost Reports and Revenue Statements. This data was further analyzed by the PhD students. The student also created graphs and tables of these data as well as other data from the Skilled Nursing Facility Minimum Data Set (MDS). The student performed new analyses of quality measure data retrieved though Nursing Home Compare, which is managed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS). These analyses described the variation in performance across Oregon Skilled Nursing Facilities. For example, moderate to severe pain reported in short stays was 11% in the highest performing 25% of all facilities and 42% in the lowest performing 25% of facilities, which highlights differences between the highest and lowest performing facilities

Expression of tung tree diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 in E. coli

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) catalyze the final and rate-limiting step of triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis in eukaryotic organisms. Database search has identified at least 59 DGAT1 sequences from 48 organisms, but the expression of any DGAT1 as a full-length protein in <it>E. coli </it>had not been reported because DGAT1s are integral membrane proteins and difficult to express and purify. The objective of this study was to establish a procedure for expressing full-length DGAT1 in <it>E. coli</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An expression plasmid containing the open reading frame for tung tree (<it>Vernicia fordii</it>) DGAT1 fused to maltose binding protein and poly-histidine affinity tags was constructed and expressed in <it>E. coli </it>BL21(DE3). Immunoblotting showed that the recombinant DGAT1 (rDGAT1) was expressed, but mostly targeted to the membranes and insoluble fractions. Extensive degradation also occurred. Nonetheless, the fusion protein was partially purified from the soluble fraction by Ni-NTA and amylose resin affinity chromatography. Multiple proteins co-purified with DGAT1 fusion protein. These fractions appeared yellow in color and contained fatty acids. The rDGAT1 was solubilized from the insoluble fraction by seven detergents and urea, with SDS and Triton X-100 being the most effective detergents. The solubilized rDGAT1 was partially purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. PreScission protease digestion confirmed the identity of rDGAT1 and showed extensive precipitation following Ni-NTA affinity purification.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study reports the first procedure for expressing full-length DGAT1 from any species using a bacterial expression system. The results suggest that recombinant DGAT1 is degraded extensively from the carboxyl terminus and associated with other proteins, lipids, and membranes.</p